Big Adventures with Little Foods

We’ve been hearing from a lot of people recently that compare our Bites menus to other types of catering. People love the smaller look and the greater variety that comes with these types of menus. Since these are less familiar than more traditional options, we’ve decided to do a Q&A with our own Chef Elizabeth to outline how the Bites option is different from other types of catering (incl. Bite Catering Couture’s own line of sit down and buffet menus):

Q: Why do people tend to choose Bite menus?
CE: My customers really love the look of the individual Bites, the diversity of a Bites menu, and the flavors that you can pack into a small Bite to really make each one pop. People get excited about what’s coming out next…there’s fun new food every few minutes over 3 hours. Also, customers tend to really enjoy the ability to mingle freely with their guests, as they aren’t tied to their table.

Q: How are Bites parties different from sit-down parties?
CE: Bites menu allows for a stand-up party where guests can mingle freely and eat interesting items over time. This leads to a more social feel for larger groups, where more dynamic conversations can take place. This can also really save money on rentals like tables, plates, and silverware. In addition, its much more natural for people to eat gradually. We’ve found that people enjoy their food more and listen more to their bodies on quantity when they can eat over the course of an evening.

Q: What goes into making small pieces?
CE: Each Bite is a little hand-crafted work of art made by a skilled chef. We actually put much more time and flavor into each one, as each Bite has to stand on its own. I don’t think most people understand how much goes into making each one…we can’t make large batches the same way other caterers can with trays of meats or dishes.

Q: That sounds like a lot of work. Are Bites a lot more expensive than other types of catering?
CE: It is a lot of work. Fortunately, our format allows for a lot of savings on other things, so the overall cost is about the same as any premium caterer. Rentals is the big one…since people are standing up and aren’t using plates, you can save a lot of money on tables, chairs, plates, silverware, and all of that. You can often use fewer staff as well, as the food doesn’t all need to come out at the same time…it comes out over the course of 3 hours. We can arrange some of our room temperature Bites in gorgeous displays that can substitute for decorations.

Q: Are there ways to save money using Bites options?
CE: We know many people are on a budget these days. We do offer drop-off and limited service menus for those who love our food, but don’t want to pay for chefs on site. The menus are either room temperature or Bites our clients can heat and serve themselves. We send them out well packaged and with instructions on what preparation is required. Drop-off allows for fun food at your party while being our most economical option.

Q: What size parties work well with Bites?
CE: Our Bites are a good fit for parties generally between 20 and 200 people. Smaller than that hits our minimums and larger tends to need more of a buffet format.

Q: What kind of budgets work with a Bites menu?
CE: Our lighter menus start at about $20/person in food cost and our more filling and elaborate menus range from $35 to $100+/person in food cost. Since we make our Bites from scratch, we can customize menus to meet a variety of dietary preferences.

Interested in seeing more? Check out our Bites menus to get some inspiration for your next party!

We’ll look forward to sharing an evening on Thursday with the folks from the HOPE campaign and Fred Segal, at a poker invitational called “Vice for Nice”. Hope to see some of you all there…if you’re interested in donating to the cause for a seat at the table, please call the number on the flyer above.

There are a lot of great places to go out for Sushi in West LA, yet getting reasonably priced delivery can be tough in this town.

Last night, we wanted a quiet night in, and so Sushi Sho hit the spot. While the restaurant itself is somewhat small and casual, the delivery is cool. A sushi chef comes to your door and drops it off.

The sushi is melt-in-your-mouth fresh and prices are reasonable.

Give them a try and let us know what you think.

Jennifer Wilson captured some amazing photos from Lily’s 4th birthday party, which Bite catered. Donna Collins from Party Wishes did a great job in setting up the Mary Poppins theme event.

Check out the pictures!

Wandering down Main St, Santa Monica yesterday, we came across a really cute looking store called Omelette Parlor.

Going inside, was a trip down retro lane. There were old-school style benches, beautiful woodwork, grandfather clocks, etc. Lots of great photos of the beaches in the time of our grandparents and great grandparents. It looked just like I’d expect a old soda fountain.

We were excited to eat…except that after 10 minutes we still couldn’t get someone to take our order.

Its been the first time I’ve left a restaurant in a long time, but starving and needing to run and getting zero attention from wait staff doesn’t inspire me to patronize a place.

How’s the food? Jury out. Decor: awesome place with great feel of being in other time. Service: bad enough that we didn’t stick around to try the food.

Hopefully an isolated experience, but I don’t understand why someone would have potential customers come in and then not even attempt to get their business.

Its been a busy beginning of the year…trying to get back in the blogging habit!

OK, I have not written in a very long time – I have been BUSY!!! But I will talk more about that later. Right now, let’s talk dessert.

Every one in a while (and ladies, you might be able to relate to this one) I have the most insane chocolate-peanut butter craving. Only one thing could ever possible satisfy that craving…chocolate peanut butter PIE!!!

I don’t have a specific recipe but here is what I do – make a chocolate crust – crush your favorite chocolate cookie/wafers, mix with some butter and bake to set in pie tin – brush with chocolate to up the chocolate ante and keep the crust from getting moist – chill. If you really want to go the chocolate route, make a truffle chocolate ganache and spread a layer of it at the bottom of the crust and allow to set in the fridge.

For the peanut butter filling – cream enough cream cheese, sugar and smooth peanut butter (not the natural kind – not as good!) to fill the crust (you can adjust to achieve your desired level of peanut butteryness) and beat until smooth and soft. Fold in thick/stiff sweetened whipped cream – enough to make almost a peanut butter mousse mixture and fill the rest of the the pie crust with it. Chill for a few hours – right before you serve, spoon some more whipped cream on top and top with crunchy roasted peanuts (I like the salted kind as it lends some salt to the very sweet dessert) and chocolate shavings. The also makes a pretty darnd good frozen peanut butter pie – great in the summer!

We do a miniature version of a chocolate-peanut butter pie at our catering company.

I hope you like that one!

Here’s a copy of the press release!

Executive Chef Elizabeth Goel of Los Angeles based Bite Catering Couture wins silver medal in closest contest in Food Network Challenge history. Bite Catering Couture specializes in catering Signature Bite-sized tasting menus for weddings, parties, and special events in Los Angeles. Chef Elizabeth’s team finished a mere 0.6 points (of 100) from the first prize and $10,000.

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) August 30, 2008 — Executive Chef Elizabeth Todd Goel of Bite Catering Couture led one of four teams on Food Network Challenge: Big Bash Caterers, which premiered Sunday, August 24th on Food Network, competing for a $10,000 prize.

Executive Chef Elizabeth Goel, Bite Catering Couture

The (caprese salad skewer) is a little work of art. It’s delicate, like a ballerina. So its really appealing

Executive Chef Elizabeth Goel placed 2nd in a tight competition with veteran chefs of the catering industry. The margin of victory was a razor-thin 0.6 points of 100. The competition featured 4 teams of caterers feeding 75 guests in a party for the Colorado Ballet.

Chef Elizabeth brought a menu appropriate to a ballet, featuring a number of Bite Catering Couture’s signature miniature catered foods: creole crab cakes, caprese salad skewers, Nutcracker cones, and Nutcracker “Sweet” (espresso chocolate bonbons and caramel nut pie). Guests referred to the combination as “Food on point.”

“The (caprese salad skewer) is a little work of art. It’s delicate, like a ballerina. So its really appealing,” commented judge Lisa Snider, Executive Director of the Colorado Ballet.

Judge Chris Siversen, Executive Chef of Bridgewaters summarized, “Seeing the presentation, tasting it, everything is really dead on. Great flavors!”

Bite Catering Couture was honored to have our Executive Chef and signature bites in competition against some of the best caterers in the country. As a new Los Angeles catering company, we look forward to introducing our unique, stylish approach to high-quality catered foods for weddings, special events, and parties in Los Angeles.

Food Network Challenge airs Sundays at 8pm ET/PT. For more information, additional air times and contest recipes, please visit FoodNetwork.com

Please visit Bite Catering Couture of Los Angeles at www.bitecatering.net for pictures, sample menus, client reviews, recipes, and more. Bite Catering Couture is a premier caterer in Los Angeles with a signature line of bite-sized miniature foods in addition to full-service catering. Our approach to parties, weddings, and special events is to bring a tasting menu of Bites, allowing guests a greater variety of flavors and the opportunity to participate in more conversations than a sit-down only event.

For more information, press only, please contact:
Vijay Goel, 310-492-5601

For more information on Bite Catering Couture: www.bitecatering.net

We had a Monday afternoon jonesing for burger, so Elizabeth and I went in search of burger reviews. Hearing all the buzz about the “Office Burger” from Father’s Office in Santa Monica, There is also a location well reviewed in Culver City.

We walked in a little after 5 and the place was active, but there were still a few seats available by the bar. This was actually great, as you have to order at the bar (which can be a bit challenging if all the seats are full)–make sure you arrive with a friend, grab a menu, grab your seats, and send one person up to order.

My first impression was that there were a lot more women around than I would expect in a beer and burger joint– perhaps the food was as good as advertised.

We took a look at the burgers that other folks were eating, and dispensed with all the other items and went straight to the office burger and fries…especially when we saw the chef didn’t allow substitutions. This was a place that took their burgers seriously!

It was juicy in a way that most burgers can’t match. Real steak amazing cheese, touch of bacon, caramelized onions…it just melted in my mouth. Writing about it is making me hungry. Its like taking the best part of a steak and a burger, putting them together, throwing in a bit of cheese and bacon…yummm!

Finicky describes it below and I agree completely:

Juicy ground beef– and I mean juicy, with glistening meat juice droplets visible with each bite– on a chewy roll, smothered with a bacon-onion compote, caramelized to the point where it looks like thick dark fudge, and topped with a surprisingly mild and delicate yet rich combination of melted gruyere and Maytag blue cheese, accented by vibrantly green fresh baby arugula. This burger is absolutely to die for and completely deserving of the title of “Best Burger.”

Fries were awesome too. Garlic aioli sauce, crisp shoestring fries, yumm.

It was perfect for an afternoon jonesing for a burger. We’ll definitely be back once we give our arteries a bit of time to clear

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I took my weary wife out for a date tonight. Sadly enough, in the life of a caterer, Sunday night tends to be date night.

We had a two wedding weekend in addition to a few other parties, so our dear Chef was in need of an evening of someone else’s cooking and a nice glass of wine.

We went to Fraiche, where we’ve been once before. Its relatively new in Culver City, but they do simple foods extremely well– fresh ingredients, proper preparation, well trained service…its a terrific experience where all the little things just go right (only drawback is that it can get noisy inside). The open kitchen is also cool– Elizabeth was excited to see that there was a woman working on the line in addition to the pastry folks.

Tonight we each had an appetizer and an entree. For appetizers we ordered the beet salad and the beef tartare. The beets were sliced over a base of goat cheese with a sprinkling of hazelnuts and olive oil. The sweetness of the beets combined with the creaminess of the goat cheese made for a terrific dish. The beef tartare appeared on bruschetta-style toast, with arugula to the side. The arugula was a bit salty alone, but when combined with the tartare and the hint of garlic with the bread, it all went together marvelously.

For entrees, Elizabeth ordered the lamb (which came as a stew with ricotta and gnochi) and I had steak frites. The lamb was perfect comfort food– the lamb was slow cooked and the meat fell apart as soon as it hit our mouths. The steak was deconstructed, but a perfect juicy medium-rare…perfect to fill a craving after a week spent eating a lot of salads.

Overall, a great experience. Service was terrific, food was simple with great ingredients and very well executed. This place is becoming one of our favorites.